PIX: Curiosity rover may be littering plastic on Mars

Curiosity had been in the midst of preparing to feed soil into its chemistry and mineralogy (CheMin) instrument, which bounces thin beams of X-rays off a sample to read its mineral composition.

This involved taking scoopfuls of soil, shaking them vigorously and then dumping them back out, to be sure that any lingering traces of Earthly particles didn't make it into the science equipment.

After the first scoop-and-shake revealed the unexpected object, Curiosity took a quick break to examine the find. It then got back on course, taking a second scoop of soil on October 12.

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Image: Soil clinging to the right middle and rear wheels of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity can be seen after the rover's third drive on Mars in this handout photo courtesy of NASA.Photographs: Reuters/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Handout

PIX: Curiosity rover may be littering plastic on Mars

NASA is currently preparing to take a third sample from the site as well as more pictures, which should help them figure out whether the bright bits are unwelcome litter or something worthy of delivery to the rover's on-board lab equipment.